Update: JetBlue Not Exactly the First Airline to Let You Use PEDs During Takeoff

Update: JetBlue jumped the gun in announcing it won the race to become the first airline to allow passengers to use personal electronic devices (PEDs) during all phases of flight. But approval is imminent.

Update 11/1 at 9:15 a.m.: Last night, JetBlue had been informally spreading the word that it had won approval to start letting passengers use PEDS during takeoff and landing on all flights starting at 6 p.m. that night, so that it could claim to be the first to do so. But apparently, the FAA said 'hold the phone.' Turns out the process is taking a little longer than expected, and JetBlue and fellow competitor Delta are still awaiting the agency's blessing and hoping to be first. A Delta source told us it should be days, not weeks.

**Original story: 10/31 at 6 p.m.: **JetBlue just won the race to become the first airline to allow passengers to use personal electronic devices (PEDs) during all phases of flight. The new rule starts tonight at 6 p.m. ET across all JetBlue flights, and comes after this morning's announcement by the FAA that the agency has deemed it safe to let fliers use their iPhones, Kindles, iPads, and other devices during the previously banned takeoff and landing portions of the flight. The debate over the dangers of using those devices had been raging for a long time, but last year the FAA started to consider easing the ban. There are caveats, of course (and FareCompare's Rick Seaney even wondered on Twitter this morning if airlines would now add a fee for the priviledge of using PEDs at less than 10,000 feet). See the helpful infographic the FAA released earlier today: